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| Dominique Strauss-Kahn |
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| Monday, 12 November 2007 | |
Director of the International Monetary Fund. The International Monetary Fund distributed more than US$34 billion to developing countries in 2006. When he gets to Washington, the new boss will find himself sitting on top of 3,217 tonnes of gold which the IMF has amassed over the years. Rather than leaving it uselessly buried, DSK would like to sell some, generating income from the proceeds to give the fund more liquidity. This is just one of his many ideas for bringing the IMF into the new century, in view of the economic realities and new economic super powers. He will have to take his board along with him, of course, but as he spent the summer visiting as many IMF member countries as possible, listening to and discussing their problems, he will be pretty convincing. He was also soliciting their votes for his election to the post, and his impressive majority gives him added force. He may be the last MD to take advantage of the old cosy arrangement whereby an American headed the World Bank and a European the IMF. Born in 1949 in Neuilly, he was a brilliant student of public law and economics ending with an agrégé, opening the path to teaching in higher education, and a PhD. He was soon lecturing on economics in universities and top écoles supérieures such as ÉNA. Whenever waters got a bit choppy in his political world he was able to go back to this more peaceful field. He has written a number of books, mostly on economic subjects. His first political affiliation was as an active member of the Communist Students’ Movement, before moving towards the centre via Chevènement and then on into the Socialist party. He was first elected député in 1986 and in 1991 joined the ill-fated Édith Cresson administration as junior minister for foreign trade and industry. When the Socialists were defeated in 1993, DSK remained in close touch with his party, but also branched out into the world of high finance and business, setting up his own law firm: this earned him some criticism from the left wing of his party, which increased when, in the Socialist come-back of 1997, Jospin appointed him Finance Minister and he implemented a privatisation programme. In fact, he proved effective in this difficult post. After Chirac’s victory in 2002, DSK, although holding on to his parliamentary seat, rather withdrew from politics. He would have liked to have been selected as Socialist candidate for the presidential elections, but the party preferred Royal. He supported her in public but not behind the scenes and he has now strongly criticised her campaign. In his own campaign for the IMF job, he gave assurances that he would complete the whole five-year term. It was at first assumed that this meant he would not be a candidate in the 2012 French presidential elections. He has now put this right: should circumstances look propitious he has every intention of having another go. In 1991, Anne Sinclair, the television presenter, became his third wife. She will be leaving her Paris career to accompany him to Washington, where they will be quite at home on the cocktail circuit. |
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